Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A network virtualization application for managing a plurality of managed switching elements that forward data in a network, the network virtualization application comprising: an input interface for receiving input logical forwarding plane data that defines a logical data path set in terms of a set of input logical forwarding tables, wherein the logical data path set comprises a configuration for one or more logical switching elements; a converter for converting the input logical forwarding plane data to output physical control plane data that specifies rules for the managed switching elements to follow in order to implement the logical data path set; an output interface for receiving the output physical control plane data from the converter and storing the output physical control plane data in a set of output tables; a publisher for publishing the output physical control plane data to be distributed to a set of the plurality of managed switching elements and subsequently translated by the set of managed switching elements into physical forwarding plane data that direct the forwarding of data packets by the managed switching elements; and a monitor for detecting a change in network state and modifying the input logical forwarding plane data based on the detected change, wherein the network state comprises a state of the managed switching elements.
A network virtualization application manages multiple switches in a network by creating a virtualized network. It receives logical forwarding plane data that defines virtual network paths using logical forwarding tables, configuring logical switches. This data is converted into physical control plane data, which contains rules for the physical switches to follow to create the virtual network paths. The application then publishes this physical control plane data to the physical switches. These switches translate this data into physical forwarding plane data, which dictates how they forward data packets. The application also monitors the network for changes, such as switch status, and modifies the logical forwarding plane data accordingly to adapt to network changes.
2. The network virtualization application of claim 1 , wherein the input logical forwarding plane data are at least partially supplied by a control application that translates input logical control plane data, that specifies a definition of the logical data path set, to output logical forwarding plane data.
The network virtualization application described previously also uses a control application that creates the initial logical forwarding plane data. This control application takes logical control plane data, which specifies the overall design of the virtual network, and translates it into the logical forwarding plane data that the virtualization application uses to configure the virtual network paths. Essentially, the control application defines the virtual network, and the network virtualization application implements it using the physical network.
3. The network virtualization application of claim 1 , wherein the monitor is for detecting a change in the state of the managed switching elements.
In the network virtualization application described previously, the monitoring component specifically detects changes in the status or state of the managed switching elements (physical switches). This allows the virtualization application to react to failures or changes in capacity of the underlying physical network infrastructure.
4. The network virtualization application of claim 3 , wherein the monitor is for monitoring the managed switching elements by monitoring a network state data structure that stores data regarding the managed switching elements.
In the network virtualization application that monitors changes in the state of physical switches as described above, the monitoring component observes the physical switches by analyzing a network state data structure. This data structure holds information about the status and characteristics of the managed switching elements, providing the monitoring component with the necessary data to detect changes.
5. The network virtualization application of claim 4 , wherein the network virtualization application and the network state data structure operate on a same computer.
The network virtualization application that monitors network state using a data structure, as previously described, operates on the same computer as the network state data structure. This co-location allows for faster and more direct access to network state information.
6. The network virtualization application of claim 4 , wherein the network virtualization application and the network state data structure operate on different computers.
The network virtualization application that monitors network state using a data structure, as described previously, operates on a different computer from the network state data structure. This separation may be useful for distributing the load or improving the scalability of the overall system.
7. The network virtualization application of claim 1 , wherein the input logical forwarding plane data comprises a plurality of logical flow entries in at least one of the logical forwarding tables that is not accessible for input by a user.
The network virtualization application described in the first claim uses logical forwarding tables that contain logical flow entries. These entries, which are part of the logical forwarding plane data, define how data is forwarded within the virtual network and are not directly editable by a user. This prevents direct manual configuration of the virtual network's forwarding behavior.
8. The network virtualization application of claim 7 , wherein at least a subset of the plurality of logical flow entries specify forwarding rules for forwarding of data between logical addresses of the one or more logical switching elements.
Within the network virtualization application and its logical forwarding tables described above, at least some of the logical flow entries define forwarding rules for data traffic between the virtual addresses of the logical switches. These rules enable communication between different parts of the virtual network by specifying how data packets should be routed based on their virtual addresses.
9. The network virtualization application of claim 8 , wherein the logical forwarding table with the logical flow entries is a Layer 2 (“L2”) table and the plurality of logical flow entries specify L2 forwarding rules.
In the network virtualization application and the logical forwarding tables described above, the logical forwarding table can be a Layer 2 (L2) table. The logical flow entries in this L2 table define L2 forwarding rules that govern how data packets are forwarded at the data link layer of the OSI model.
10. The network virtualization application of claim 9 , wherein the L2 forwarding rules are specified in terms of Media Access Control (“MAC”) addresses.
Within the network virtualization application and its L2 forwarding table, the L2 forwarding rules are defined using Media Access Control (MAC) addresses. The L2 forwarding rules use MAC addresses for forwarding decisions.
11. The network virtualization application of claim 8 , wherein the logical forwarding table with the logical flow entries is a Layer 3 (“L3”) table and the plurality of logical flow entries specify L3 forwarding rules.
In the network virtualization application and the logical forwarding tables described above, the logical forwarding table can be a Layer 3 (L3) table. The logical flow entries in this L3 table define L3 forwarding rules that govern how data packets are forwarded at the network layer of the OSI model.
12. The network virtualization application of claim 11 , wherein the L3 forwarding rules are specified in terms of Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses.
Within the network virtualization application and its L3 forwarding table, the L3 forwarding rules are defined using Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. The L3 forwarding rules use IP addresses for forwarding decisions.
13. A network virtualization application for managing a network comprising a plurality of network elements, the network elements comprising a plurality of managed switching elements that forward data among the network elements, the network virtualization application comprising: a network monitor for detecting a change in the plurality of managed switching elements; an interface for generating logical forwarding plane data based at least in part on the detected change in the network, the logical forwarding plane data defining a logical data path set in terms of a set of logical forwarding tables; a converter for converting the logical forwarding plane data to physical control plane data that specifies rules for the managed switching elements to follow in order to implement the logical data path set, the physical control plane data for subsequent translation by the managed switching elements into a set of physical data paths that define forwarding behaviors of the managed switching elements; a publisher for publishing the physical control plane data for distribution to at least one additional network virtualization application.
Another version of the network virtualization application manages a network comprised of multiple network elements including physical switching elements that forward data. The application monitors the physical switches to detect changes. Based on those changes, it generates logical forwarding plane data (virtual network paths) using logical forwarding tables. This data is converted into physical control plane data (switch rules), which is then distributed to other network virtualization applications. The physical switches will eventually translate this control data into physical data paths defining how they forward data.
14. The network virtualization application of claim 13 , wherein the interface is further for receiving logical forwarding plane data generated from logical control plane data by a control application.
In the network virtualization application described above that monitors network changes, generates logical forwarding plane data, converts it to physical control plane data and distributes it, the logical forwarding plane data is generated from logical control plane data. This logical control plane data originates from a control application, providing another source for defining the virtual network.
15. The network virtualization application of claim 13 , wherein the physical control plane data are further distributed to the managed switching elements.
In the network virtualization application that monitors network changes, generates logical forwarding plane data, converts it to physical control plane data and distributes it as described above, the physical control plane data is also distributed directly to the managed switching elements (physical switches). This allows the switches to configure their forwarding behavior directly based on the converted data.
16. The network virtualization application of claim 13 , wherein the publisher is for publishing the physical control plane data to a data structure shared with the at least one additional network virtualization application.
In the network virtualization application that publishes physical control plane data for distribution to other network virtualization applications, as described above, the publishing is done via a shared data structure. This enables the network virtualization applications to access and share information about the physical control plane data.
17. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program which when executed by at least one processing unit manages a plurality of managed switching elements that forward data through a network, the program comprising sets of instructions for: receiving input logical forwarding plane data that defines a logical data path set as a set of logical forwarding tables, the logical data path set comprising a configuration for one or more logical switching elements; converting the input logical forwarding plane data to output physical control plane data that specifies rules for the managed switching elements to follow in order to implement the logical data path set; and publishing the output physical control plane data in order for the physical control plane data to be distributed to the managed switching elements and subsequently translated by the managed switching elements into a set of physical data paths that defines forwarding behaviors of the managed switching elements.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium stores a program that, when executed, manages multiple physical switches in a network. The program includes instructions for receiving logical forwarding plane data that defines virtual network paths using logical forwarding tables. The program converts this data into physical control plane data, which contains rules for the physical switches. The program then publishes this physical control plane data so that it can be distributed to and translated by the switches into physical data paths, defining how they forward data packets.
18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the output physical control plane data is published to a data structure that stores a state of the network.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium described above, which stores the program for managing physical switches and translating logical forwarding plane data, publishes the physical control plane data to a data structure that stores the network's state. This allows other components to monitor and react to changes in the network configuration.
19. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for monitoring the data structure to identify changes in the state of the network.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores the program for managing switches and publishes physical control plane data to a data structure also includes instructions for monitoring the data structure. This monitoring enables the detection of changes in the network's state.
20. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the input logical forwarding plane data is generated from logical control plane data that is at least partially user-specified to define the logical data path set.
The non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores the program for managing physical switches as described above receives logical forwarding plane data which originates from logical control plane data. This logical control plane data is at least partially specified by a user, allowing the user to define the logical data path set within the virtualized network.
Unknown
August 26, 2014
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.